ATLANTA- Redshirt-senior Vineece Verdun slammed a season-high 23 kills to lead four Panthers with double-digit kills and the Georgia State volleyball team captured a thrilling five-set victory (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-9) over George Mason in conference play Friday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers improved to 5-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association with the win, 11-15 overall. The Patriots fell to 7-15 on the year and 2-8 in conference.
Sophomore setter Kaylee McGrew tallied a career-high 66 assists in the match, helping Jamiee Freeman (20 kills) to a career-best performance, Muki Kangwa to 16 kills and Andrea Noe to 15 spikes.
The Panthers' 79 total kills were a team high on the year.
It was the Panthers' "Pink Out" night for breast cancer awareness, as the squad donned pink uniforms on the court. GSU tallied 92 digs- its second highest output of the year- on a night in which every dig raised money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
"It was hard at some points but we had a lot of heart and I'm proud of the way we pulled it out," said Verdun. "We had great sets, Kaylee was on fire. She was making it easy for me."
"It was definitely important to win at home," coach Tami Audia added. "It was a great victory for the team... hard-fought throughout the entire time, we put our heart on our sleeve and you could definitely tell that tonight."
GSU jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set after a spike down the line from Verdun. Mason rallied to come within one at 19-18, but GSU used two aces from Freeman and strong attacking to take six of the next seven points for a 25-19 win. The Panthers hit a blistering .400 in the opening frame, with seven kills from Freeman, six from Verdun and five from Kangwa.
In the second set, GSU took a 10-6 lead early on a kill by Andrea Noe. GSU would hold a slim lead throughout the frame and went up 20-19 on a kill by Kangwa. The Patriots then rallied back and led by attacks from Lana Zonjic, claimed a 23-21 lead. GSU scored just twice more and dropped the set, 25-23.
The teams battled to a 9-9 tie in the third set, then Mason lept ahead with four straight. GSU continued to struggle and fell behind 18-12. It was 21-15 after a GSU service error, but that's when the Panthers mounted a furious rally. With the home fans cheering, GSU scored 10 straight points to turn a sizeable deficit into a one-set lead with an electrifying 25-21 victory. Freeman was key, spiking four kills during the run to climb into double-digits for the match. It was Emily Averbeck who gave GSU a lead at 22-21 on an ace and GSU stormed to the set win.
Despite their momentum, the Panthers fell behind early on in the fourth set, 10-6. GSU remained a step back through much of the set, and went down 20-12 after an ace from Mason's Zonjic. The Panthers would get four kills from Noe in the set, but fell, 25-18.
Things came down to a fifth and deciding set, with both teams entering the last frame riding identical .242 attack percentages.
Verdun and GSU came out swinging in the fifth, earning a 6-3 lead after four kills from the redshirt-senior and an ace from Freeman. Up 10-8, Verdun stuffed a Mason attack to keep the Panthers in control. GSU didn't relent and after Freeman spiked one for a 14-8 lead, McGrew ended it with a kill of her own to give GSU a 15-9 fifth-set victory and a match win.
Kangwa (16 kills, 16 digs) posted her 11th double-double of the year, while Freeman (20 kills, 13 digs) had her ninth. Emily Averbeck had a team-high 25 digs.
The Panthers improved to 6-5 against the Patriots.
GSU, who entered the night standing fifth in the CAA, welcomes first-place James Madison (17-6, 7-2 CAA) Sunday to the Sports Arena. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
